To understand what goes on behind the doors of that charming, ‘hometown’ government center on Sunset Drive in the heart of South Miami you simply need to watch 2nd grade playground activity. You know: “Nani nani boo boo”, “You can’t play with us anymore”, “I quit”. But in South Miami you don’t quit, you get fired “without cause”, a.k.a. “just because”.

Today’s news flash: South Miami commissioners passed a resolution to send a message to the interim city manager (the last 4 city managers were fired; the last one, fired November, 2012, says it was easier being under daily attack as a lieutenant colonel in Ramadi, Iraq, where he was stationed in 2009) that if they could fire the police chief they would, but since they can’t (against the rules) they’ll just pass this resolution to send the message. Now, how long do you think it took them to put this together?

Why fire Police Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro? Too much finger pointing there to get to the truth, and coincidentally one of the reasons is about finger pointing. The mayor says the cops wrongly arrested his friend while on a bike ride home from work, and the question is did the friend shake his index finger at a policeman for making an illegal turn, or did he give him the finger? You decide. Then the next question is did the police chief wrongly spend forfeiture money on dinner and vitamins for the police dog or is the police chief being picked on because of the friend with the loose finger?

You could look back a year or 10 years in South Miami’s whacky political epicenter and it’s about the same story. In this Petticoat Junction of a government they don’t like each other personally and have a hard time getting past that, but they all care and love The City of Pleasant Living, I’ll give them that.

South Miami is a wonderful place to live, and that’s because of the wonderful residents, first-class merchants, beautiful parks and recreation facilities (thank you City of South Miami government), excellent schools, a fine police department, and a building and zoning group that cares. I’ve been a resident, business owner, and selling South Miami real estate for over 20 years and I wouldn’t live anywhere else.

Mack Cycle & Fitness, a landmark in South Miami.

Dante Fascell Park

Best breakfast in town at Casa Larios.

To learn more about South Miami or any other community – including Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, contact Val Byrne with EWM Realty International on www.MiamiRealEstateWorks.com or email at [email protected] or by phone at 305-323-6231. Val Byrne – Working For You!